Edwin Drake Secures Final Funding, ND's Horizontal Drilling Expansion Law and Kilgore
Plus Standard Oil, Saudi Arabia, running shoes and much much more on July 3's Petro Playback.
Welcome to Petro Playback, where we don’t just pump out headlines—we extract the moments that made markets move, policies shift, and oilfield legends grow.
It’s July 3, and while fireworks prep is underway across the country, the oil and gas sector has already lit its share of fuses. Today’s rewind takes us from Pennsylvania to Venezuela, from national milestones to global market shakeups. Each event tells us one thing: the ground beneath us might be stable, but the energy world never is.
Let’s drill right in with Event Number One—July 3, 1859: Edwin Drake Secures Final Funding for America’s First Oil Well
Yes, most know that the first successful oil well was drilled in Titusville, Pennsylvania, in August 1859—but it was on July 3 that Colonel Edwin Drake secured his final round of financial backing from the Seneca Oil Company to complete the project. His slow, expensive, and widely mocked effort would soon become the prototype for the American oil industry. This date marks the last moment oil was a gamble—after that, it became a gold rush. A financial decision on a quiet summer day reshaped the U.S. economy for centuries to come.
Event Number Two—July 3, 1938: Saudi Arabia Grants First Oil Concession to Standard Oil of California
On this day, a little-known deal went largely unnoticed in the Western press, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, facing severe financial hardship, officially granted an oil concession to Standard Oil of California (SoCal)—what would become Chevron. This marked the birth of Aramco, the eventual Saudi oil giant, and laid the foundation for the world's most oil-rich nation to emerge as a central player in global geopolitics. That July 3 agreement was not just a contract—it was the launchpad for 20th-century petro-diplomacy.
Event Number Three—July 3, 1989: Venezuela's Oil Sector Reaches Peak Pre-Nationalization Output
Before socialist reforms took hold in the late 1990s, Venezuela’s PDVSA had become one of the most respected national oil companies in the world. On July 3, 1989, Venezuela reported an average monthly output of 3.2 million barrels per day, the highest it would see before mismanagement, corruption, and sanctions took their toll. For a brief time, Venezuela was a case study in how a state-owned entity could operate like a global major. The record stood as a benchmark—and a warning—of what happens when politics takes over production.
Event Number Four—July 3, 2006: North Dakota Passes Horizontal Drilling Expansion Law
North Dakota may be synonymous with shale today, but the legal groundwork was laid on July 3, 2006, when the state legislature passed a statute expanding the rights of operators to utilize horizontal drilling across pooled mineral interests. This change catalyzed private investment into the Bakken, paving the way for the multi-well pads and super laterals we see today. It wasn’t just a legal reform—it was a signal flare to the industry that North Dakota was open for business, innovation, and hydrocarbons.
Now let’s transition from milestones to molecules with today’s Petro Product Spotlight: Running Shoes
You heard right. Those high-performance sneakers you lace up for your morning jog or your child’s soccer practice? Many are made from EVA foam (ethylene-vinyl acetate), a lightweight, flexible material derived from petroleum-based ethylene. Add in synthetic rubber soles, plastic mesh uppers, and nylon stitching, and your favorite kicks start looking like a chemical refinery in disguise. Oil doesn’t just move you down the highway—it supports every step you take.
Let’s crack open the Did You Know? of the Day—because every molecule has a story.
Did You Know?
Crude oil fluoresces under UV light. That’s right—when exposed to ultraviolet radiation, many types of crude emit a greenish-yellow glow. This is due to naturally occurring aromatic hydrocarbons. Field geologists and environmental response teams actually use UV light to detect oil spills in soil or water—especially helpful in nighttime or low-visibility operations. So next time someone says oil is just black sludge, tell them it glows in the right light.
Now we shine a spotlight on a rural American town that knows oil as more than a market—it's a way of life.
Community Highlight: Kilgore, Texas
Located in the heart of East Texas, Kilgore exploded onto the map in the 1930s thanks to the East Texas Oil Field, one of the largest in the contiguous U.S. By 1933, it had over 1,000 wells packed into the city limits—earning the nickname “The World’s Richest Acre.” The skyline was once so crowded with derricks it looked like a forest of steel. Today, Kilgore balances petroleum heritage with modern energy education, home to the East Texas Oil Museum and petroleum programs at Kilgore College. It’s a reminder that oil towns don’t fade—they evolve.
So on this July 3, whether you’re investing in exploration, walking on EVA soles, or appreciating the geopolitics of a barrel, remember—oil and gas doesn’t just react to history. It creates it.
This has been Petro Playback, fueling your mind with the molecules of history.
Until next time—stay bold, stay balanced, and as always, stay barrel-wise.
Petro Playback prepared and written by Jason Spiess. Spiess is an multi-award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, producer and content consultant. Spiess, who began working in the media at age 10, has over 35 years of media experience in broadcasting, journalism, reporting and principal ownership in media companies. Spiess is currently the host of several newsmagazine programs that air across a 22 radio stations and podcasts worldwide through podcast platforms, as well as a social media audience of over 400K followers.
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